Boko Haram chief claims Lagos, Abuja attacks in new video

LAGOS : The head of Nigeria’s Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a bombing in the capital Abuja and an attack hours later in Lagos which the authorities tried to cover up, in a video obtained by AFP Sunday. In the 16-minute video, Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau also voices support for the extremist Islamic State (IS) militants who have taken over large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. He mocks the social media and protest campaign Bring Back Our Girls, which emerged after the militants kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls on April 14 from the remote northeastern town of Chibok. The girls, whose abduction has drawn unprecedented attention to Boko Haram’s five-year rebellion, are not pictured in the video, which was given to AFP through similar channels as past messages. One previous recording showed more than 100 of the hostages, some of whom are Christian, reciting Muslim prayers.